Screen stand and case



H. F. COX, JR

SCREEN STAND AND CASE Feb. 5, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 2. 1955 IIHI lion-lay fla Feb. 5, 1957 cox, R 2,780,282

SCREEN STAND AND CASE Filed Sept. 2, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

HERBERT F (OXJR United States Patent 2,780,282 SCREEN STAND AND CASE Herbert F. Cox, Jr., Syracuse, N. Y.

Application September 2, 1955, Serial No. 532,343

1 Claim. (01. 160-24) This invention relates to a portable set-up and takedown support structure and carrying case of the type particularly adapted for projection screens, maps, and similar objects which are adapted to be rolled up when out of use.

The invention has as an object a set-up and take-down supporting structure embodying a main tubular carrying casing member which may be employed as a support column for the screen or other object when unrolled, the casing structure being adapted to act as a carrying case and housing for the legs and screen or similar object when the screen is rolled. up. The arrangement is such as to provide a nesting arrangement for the legs within the rolled screen when the legs are folded and the legs and screen placed within the casing.

The above and other novel features of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is expressly understood, however, that the drawings are employed for purposes of illustration only and are not designed as a definition of the limits of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claim.

In the drawing wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts: 7

Figure l is a side elevational view of the support structure;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the arrangement with the supporting legs and the object supported contained within the support structure;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the support structure set up in operative position and illustrating a screen supported by the structure;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the upper portion of the support illustrating the attachment of the screen thereto;

Figure 5 is a sectional view of the lower end of the support with the leg members in operative supporting position;

Figure 6 is a view taken on a line corresponding to line 66, Figure 5, and constituting a top plan view of the end cap with the supporting legs attached thereto;

' and ber 10. As shown, the tubular member is provided with a metal ferrule 13 having internal threads, the ferrule 13 being afiixed to the end of the tube and providing protection and reinforcement for the end of the tube as well as an abutment adapted to engage the legs as will appear hereinafter. The cap 12 is formed with an annular 'ice 2 a skirt 14, the external surface of which is provided with a thread complemental to the threaded end portion of ferrule 13, whereby the cap may be detachably attached to the tube. The cap has a flange forming a shoulder 30 adapted to abut the tube end.

The sleeve or skirt 14 is formed with a plurality of radially extending slots 15, in'which leg members 16 may be positioned, with the leg members extending radially from the tubular member 10. Theferrule end of the tube 10 and the cap are cooperable' to fixedly restrain the legs against movement when the cap 12 is attached and threaded into the tubular member.

Preferably, the leg members 16 are dimensioned to extend radially and slightly downward from the axis of the cap 12 and are pivotally mounted at like ends to the cap as close to the center as possible. This pivotal connection is obtained by forming the cap with axially extending central projections 18 spaced apart to receive the ends of the leg members and apertured to receive pivot pins 20. For economical production, the cap may be formed of ductile metal, and the projections 18 simply slotted to receive the pivot pins 20, and the projections swedged over to lock the pins in place.

With this arrangement, the leg members 16 are movable about the pivot pins 20 to a central position parallel with the axis of the cap, whereupon the leg members may be inserted into the tubular member 10 and the cap threaded to the tube. A

The screen 25 is attached along one edge to a tube 26 and provided at its opposite end with a batten 27. A hook 28 is attached to the batten for engagement with the upper end of the tube 10 to hang the screen in unrolled operative position. The screen 25 is rolled up on the tube 26 and the whole inserted in the tubular support member 10. The leg members 16 can be moved about their pivots into parallel relation with the axis of the cap and inserted snugly within the tube 26 and the cap attached to the outer tubular support 10, as illustrated in Figures 2 and 7. The tube 26 may telescope over the projection 18, and be centered thereon.

With this arrangement, the support structure serves as a container for the supported object, and the arrangement also provides for the placement of the leg members of the supporting structure within the tubular member, whereby the whole constitutes a package of neat appearance and affords complete protection to the supported article.

A gasket may be placed upon the shoulder 30 of the cap for engagement with the end of the tube 10 whereby, when the package is assembled, the supported ob- .ject and the supporting leg structure are protected in a dust and moisture tight container.

To set up the support, the cap 12 is removed from the tube 10, and the screen 25 withdrawn from the tube. The leg members 16 are then moved to the radial position shown (see Figures 3 and 5) and the cap reattached to the tube. When the cap is threaded tightly on the end of the tube, the legs 16 are fixedly locked in radial position for the rigid support of the tube as a column. The screen is then hung from the upper end of the vertical tube 10 by means of the book 28. I I

When constructed in accordance with the disclosure herein, there are no loose or separable parts to: be dropped or lost, and the supporting structure can be conveniently set up, or taken down, quickly and without the use of any tools, or other devices; The enlarged diameter of the casing, so constructed for the purpose of housing the screen or similar object when rolled, around the foldedlegs, provides an engagement of .the ferrule 13 with the legs at points sufiiciently radially disposed from their respective pivots whereby such legs, when extended, are held in an extremely rigid manner. By thus spacing the distance between the outer sleeve or ferrule and the leg pivots, it is possible to project the legs in a nearly horizontal fashion as shown, which legs when lying close to the 11001 are less liable to be tripped over or otherwise be in the way when extended. At the same time the casing becomes a convenient carrying case for a rolled screen or the like. With a casing of about 2% inches in diameter, and locating the pivot pins 20 as close to the center as is possible,'the radial distance between pins and the ferrule will be about A; of an inch, thus providing a rigid support for each leg, though extendingpractical-ly radially.

Although a single embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. As various changes in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, reference will be had to the appended claim for a definition of the limits of the invention.

What is claimed is:

A portable support and easing structure, for a roll screen of the type comprising flexible sheet screen material afiixed along a marginal edge to a tubular member upon which such screen material is adapted to be rolled, said support and easing structure comprising a hollow elongated tubular easing closed at one end, and adapted at its open end and being of an internal diameter to receive the screen when in rolled up tubular form on the tubular 30 member, said casing having threads on its open end, a cap for said casing having an annular threaded skirt formed thereon for telescopic threaded engagement with the threaded end of said tubular casing, central projections in said cap spaced from said skirt, and forming an annular cavity to receive the end of said tubular member and rolled screen, a plurality of leg members pivotally mounted at like ends to said projections close to the center of said cap, said leg members being movable from a position central of and extending parallel to the axis of said cap to a position extending substantially radially therefrom, axially deep slots in said skirt for each of said legs to project through when radially extended, said cap being cooperable with said tubular casing upon screw threaded attachment of the cap to said casing with said legs in radial position extending through said slots to rigidly secure said legs between the casing end and the bottom of said slots in the skirt of said cap at points along said legs radially spaced a substantial distance from the pivots of said legs, and said projections of said cap andsaid legs when said legs are disposed in parallel relation having an outside common diameter less than the inside diameter of the tubular member, whereby when the tubular member with the screen rolled thereon is telescoped over said legs and projections and the screen and legs thereupon inserted within said casing, said roll screen and tubular member act as a concentric guide for said legs and cap in advance of threading said cap upon the casing end.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 504,241 Patton Aug. 29, 1893 FOREIGN PATENTS 330,773 Great Britain June 19, 1930 

